Meet Replica...

Replica is a next-generation urban planning tool that can help cities answer key transportation questions. Watch our video to learn more…

Better data, better decisions

Replica offers public agencies, land developers, and the community at large a complete sense of city movement patterns. The result is a higher confidence in critical transportation and land use decisions. Replica has three distinct advantages:

Fresher data
We create a new Replica every three months allowing comparisons of trip patterns over time and showing how people respond to new infrastructure and policies on the ground.

Built to protect privacy

Replica maintains fidelity without compromising privacy. We use a multi-step process to generate movement data that is equivalent to real-world activities but not traceable to actual people or specific trips. 

De-identified mobile location data
We use de-identified mobile phone location data to generate travel behavior models —  basically, a set of rules that represent how a person makes choices on where, when, why, and how to travel.

Synthetic population generation
Separately, we use aggregate demographic information to create what planners call a “synthetic population”. This is a virtual population that is statistically representative of the real population.

Computer simulation
We then give each person in the virtual population a travel behavior model and use computer simulation to generate a week of activities–helping us confidently replicate trip patterns across a city or metro area.

Answers in minutes, not months

Cities are complex, but the tools we use to understand them don't have to be. Replica makes three things easier than ever before: 

Exploring data
Filter data by time, mode, location, and more.

Visualizing insights
Create charts and maps to visualize your insights.

Exporting and sharing findings
Download images, maps, and data tables to share with colleagues or the public.

Applications all over the city

Traditionally travel models have been limited in both scope and accessibility. Replica can be used for both in-depth transportation planning and across many other domains.

Transportation Planning
Where should we build a light rail line?

Transit Planning and Operations
Will increased frequency attract more riders in off-peak hours?

City and Neighborhood Planning
Which neighborhoods lack access to grocery stores?

City Operations
When should we schedule water main repairs?

Parks, Recreation, and Facility Management
Who is visiting our facilities?

Health and Human Services
Which neighborhoods encourage active transit?

Read more about our work

Nick Bowden

CEO
Nick has spent his career building companies in the urbantech space. Replica is his 4th urbantech company, with 2 prior exits. His prior companies and products have been used by more
than 3,000 public agencies across the world.

Alexei Pozdnukhov

CHIEF SCIENTIST
Alexei received his PhD in Machine Learning (2006) and since led research in
Geo and Smart Cities (DOT, DOE, NSF, NASA, IBM, Google, Microsoft, AT&T),
most recently as a Professor at UC Berkeley. Alexei is regarded as a leading
expert in the world regarding mobile-location data in travel modeling.

Taylor Lint

FRONT END LEAD
Prior to Replica, Taylor led the frontend development of LinkedIn’s new Talent Insights product.

Kael Greco

SENIOR ENGINEER
Prior to Replica, Kael co-founded Many Trees, where he helped develop a unified platform for data processing, machine learning, and visualization using GPUs.

Kevin Grennan

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT & DESIGN
Prior to Replica, Kevin was a Design Lead at Airbnb. From 2012 to 2015 he was a UX Designer at Google, working on YouTube and Google Maps.

Brett Naul

SENIOR ENGINEER / DATA SCIENTIST
Brett received a PhD in Computational Mathematics and MS in Statistics from Stanford, then worked at UC Berkeley Institute for Data Science.